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Tag: digital marketing

  • Digital marketing beyond Google, Facebook, Amazon

    Digital marketing beyond Google, Facebook, Amazon

    NEW DELHI: The realm of digital marketing has grown much beyond the porticos of Google, Facebook and Amazon, with advertisers becoming eager to experiment with the platforms and investing in more targetted solutions, highlighted the diverse panel discussing the widening scope of digital marketing in the new world with Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor in chief Anil Wanvari. 

    The panel consisted of Team Pumpkin co-founder and CBO Swati Nathani, Zoo Media and FoxyMoron co-founders Suveer Bajaj and Pratik Gupta, White Rivers Media CEO and co-founder Shrenik Gandhi, iProspect India AVP-strategic solutions Nihal Nambiar and Wavemaker India chief client officer and head-west Shekhar Banerjee.

    While the advertisers were already staying alert about the diverse possibilities digital marketing has to offer, Covid2019 acted as a catalyst in facilitating the move. 

    Gandhi insisted that while the world was expecting the number of people on traditional media and digital reaching at par in 2025, Covid2019 has managed to attain that within this year itself, thus prompting even the most traditional brands to venture online. 

    Nambiar noted, “It is a fact that the lockdown has been a crazy experience for the industry. Many brands had to remain completely silent while many increased their spends on digital platforms. Going ahead, brands realise it will be smarter for them to invest in at least one or two advertising media than going completely thin and that’s where digital will benefit.”

    He added that apart from the usual Google, Facebook, Amazon (e-commerce) mix, the brands are looking at more organic options to advertise. They are churning out their own properties, content, and are greatly investing in technology, to make the most of the medium. 

    Banerjee elucidated that brands are going heavy on performance marketing. “Apart from the usual search, social, and e-commerce mix, one platform that has become the biggest gainer during the period is e-groceries section, taking a huge part of the digital pie. Going ahead, hyperlocal platforms, with their changing business models will be more conducive to advertising.”

    He also hinted that influencer marketing will change in a big way in the future, with it becoming more hard-core and result-driven. Additionally, social commerce will attract a lot of advertisers. 

    Nathani added that outdoor screens like tabs inside the cabs will also attract of a lot of advertiser attention. 

    Bajaj lauded the growth that platforms like TikTok have gained during the period and also highlighted the prominence that OTT platforms are getting from the advertisers as consumers spike. “OTT picked up a big way during the covid-period, and with most of them running on a hybrid (AVOD+SVOD) model, attracted good revenues. While this quarter might not be big for them with advertisements, the subscriptions are hitting the roof. Going ahead, they will attract a lot of advertiser attention too.”

    In addition to these, gaming platforms and digital events are also going to get a substantial part of advertisers pie in the coming future. 

    TAGS: Digital Marketing, Indiantelevision Virtual Roundtable. FoxyMoron, Zoo Media, Pratik Gupta, Suveer Bajaj, Team Pumpkin, Swati Nathani, White Rivers Media, Shrenik Gandhi,  Wavemaker, Shekhar Banerjee, iProspect, Nihal Nambiar, TikTok, Google, Facebook, OTT 

  • Pulp Strategy adopts AI in the world of advertising

    Pulp Strategy adopts AI in the world of advertising

    MUMBAI: The changing advertising landscape is now being led by data-driven tools such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Pulp Strategy, a full-service interactive, digital communications and technology agency, is also attempting to change the ad industry.

    About two years ago, Pulp Strategy founder-managing director Ambika Sharma became the sole equity owner, and since then there have been significant changes. The decision to re-haul management was taken with an aim to augment the growth trajectory of Pulp Strategy.

    Sharma says that the restructuring has helped Pulp Strategy tide over “vision mismatch and improve its agility to consolidate its domain leadership position as a leading independent digital creative agency in India redefining the brand-consumer interaction in today’s dynamic business landscape.”

    Sharma says: “The last two years we have evolved in services as well as talent. Our talent quotient has improved; we have a strong creative tech portfolio and marketing tech with AI solutions launched which give us an edge. The last two years have been interesting for business as we diversified our client portfolio to expand into oil and gas, cosmetics, personal care, non-profit and BFSI. Our product development portfolio has expanded as well.”

    The change has helped to further its aggressive growth plans while maintaining an industry-focused and innovation-driven approach. Pulp Strategy strengthened its focus more on content marketing, digital engagement, while simultaneously leveraging interactive new-age technologies like artificial intelligence and creative technology to expand its client portfolio.

    Spotting this changing trend, brands have started tapping the immense potential of these technologies to engage their target audience in innovative ways.  These cutting-edge technologies have opened up a new world of possibilities, where it could help brands  to increase the chances of successful consumer engagement, build stronger emotional connections and leave a lasting impression on the consumer’s long-term consciousness.

    “Two technologies leading the latest wave of consumer engagement nowadays are AR and visual programming. At Pulp Strategy, we have taken significant leaps in creating highly-engaging digital engagements with these technologies employing the Facebook Spark Augmented Reality platform,” she adds.

    In the artificial intelligence domain, the AI chatbot technology has the potential to bring path-breaking changes in the way marketers interact with their customers.

    Sharma notes: “The best thing about chatbots is that they are always on and send in responses round the clock, unlike email, social media and live chats. The chatbot understands every query, gives personalised responses and even takes a note of your past conversations, which ultimately leads to an improved conversation in the future.”

    Like every other company, Pulp Strategy is also bearing the brunt of Covid2019. "We are working with our clients to support Covid2019 communication and build on engagement via communication and messaging as we also recalibrate plans. Brands and consumers have to quickly learn the new way to operate in the coming months. Consumption patterns have been disrupted by the lockdown. Work from home and isolation has resulted in new behavioural shifts and some of these patterns are changing for the long term,” she concludes.

    Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment

  • Lockdown earmarks a digital progression of brands

    Lockdown earmarks a digital progression of brands

    As the world collectively grapples with the pandemic, several businesses have come to a complete halt owing to the lockdown situations globally. With the spread of COVID-19, the world is facing a very serious challenge of keeping the economy stable while easing the impact across sectors. 

    A significant downfall in the economy is visible across the globe. While some businesses are shut, for some there are limited avenues to continue work. These uncertain times have shed light on a unified communication approach of creating awareness and adopting the digital business model. A gap in communication is visible, which marketers need to bridge going forward. In times of crisis, what is important for marketers to know how they can overcome obstacles and connect with the audience. 

    Lockdown has forced people to stay at home for their own good, which has created a powerful avenue for marketers if they have the vision to do so. Since people spend maximum time staying at home during the quarantine, connecting with them through digital media is the need of the hour. In such cases, a digital marketer needs to know the strategy they can use to communicate with the consumer in a sensitive manner to relate with their audience and project themselves as a brand of choice.

    Strategic approach

    There is no denying that major sectors like travel & tourism, hospitality, and real estate have been majorly affected by the impact of COVID 19. Essential services, however, are operational across the country alongside online businesses such as digital marketing agencies, advertising sectors, technology service providers, etc. This pandemic has provided an opportunity for the brands to create stronger bonds with consumers by creating awareness and communicating with the consumer regularly. Digital is becoming the new normal and brands are now exploring a new and diverse path to survive this pandemic. Digital marketing is the ultimate way for the brands to spread awareness and keep the audience engaged with the brand.

    Leveraging Digital to the fullest

    Pay Per Click – With people being quarantined and spending more time online, it’s a great opportunity for businesses/brands to use PPC marketing to connect with their customers and gain a competitive advantage. It is cost-efficient at the same time and one can better leverage the digital marketing budget.

    Search Engine Optimisation – Anything online right now will be consumed more than ever.  This is not the time to stay low-key online. Using search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies to gradually rise to the top of Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs) is crucial for the business to gain better visibility. It's important to 

    Realigning advertising strategies

    Pre-allocating advertising amount – As the world makes its shift toward digitalisation, it is easier for the brands to restore their trust into digital aspects of their marketing strategy and allocate a certain amount of money during the times of crises as a part of the reactive strategy. Ad spend reallocation acts like a savior during such unprecedented times., It may help with online advertisements since marketers are aware that ad spends get highly affected when cost-cutting is required.

    Displayed ad spends – Due to cancellation of conferences, meetings, tie-ups and large scale events because of the pandemic, the advertising market is expected to witness a downfall and a possible dip in performance. Displaced ad spends will undoubtedly be reallocated later in the year and would benefit both the agency as well as the brand in the eventually

    At this point what matters the most is to position your brand rightly during this economic downturn and communicate effectively. Businesses should maximize social listening and be prepared to put out important brand statements. Informing the target audience on how your brand is managing the pandemic and strategically placing your messaging amidst the content that the target audience is exposed to is of utmost importance.

    Digital marketing can be incredibly agile, and agencies should be prepared to be nimble in their approach to adjust during times of crises. Marketers are also planning on how to get the business to recover after the Coronavirus impact. One can optimize digital marketing by pushing useful content which will help in maintaining and sustaining the traffic through consumer engagement. Brands need to think long and hard about digital transformation that could majorly be focused through brands reinvesting physical marketing into virtual mediums.

    (The author is co-founder and managing director, Makani Creatives. The views expressed are his own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them)

  • Digital marketing trends to lookout for in 2020

    Digital marketing trends to lookout for in 2020

    The world is moving fast. What is hot today may become obsolete in the blink of an eye. This is also true of products, businesses, and even digital marketing trends. And given the pace at which the marketing industry is growing, companies may find it hard to keep up. From an ancient book-based industry, marketing has now transformed into a seamlessly digital world with newer trends every other day. To compete effectively with these changes, brands must keep abreast of what is happening around them and be aware of the latest developments in the digital marketing realm. After all, forward-thinking and innovation are the key to success and growth.

    Keeping up with times

    Today digital marketers have copious amounts of data and equally powerful tools to build compelling messages. Making use of the technologies available, along with proper implementation, gives conversion-focused companies the opportunity to deliver impactful, thought-raising and comprehensive content with absolute ease. Strategically curated content can help create a strong personal image for your brand by showcasing your most priced expertise to clients effectively. While content will continue to be king, videos are expected to rule the roost with more than 72 per cent of customers relying on visual influences to pick a product or service in the past year. Another big trend that caught up with digital marketers recently is the fight for ‘Position Zero’. While the ‘#1’ spot is no longer enough, the highly desirable top spot on the search engine results page is now known as ‘Position Zero’. And to get there, businesses are taking the help of powerful influencers — a marketing strategy that promises to deliver almost 11 times higher ROI than other avenues. Giving you a headstart into 2020, here’s a round-up of some trends that are sure to take the digital marketing scene by storm in the coming year.

    Voice search comes of age

    This is probably the next best thing waiting to happen that digital marketers have for long ignored. With more than 55 per cent of urban households owning at least one smart AI-based device by 2022, it is only wise for companies to modulate their content for voice searches in the coming year or so. While text search will still be the most used form of online search, voice search is a tool that can maximise exponential reach to a highly targeted audience as voice-enabled mobile phones are now a common feature in urban homes.

    Interactive content

    Interactive websites have always fascinated the audience, simply because they are engaging and captivating. New and original content will be much in demand in 2020 as studies show that almost 91 per cent of customers are drawn to interactive content on online platforms.  This is a win-win for both the customer as well as the business. While it serves to improve SEO metrics drastically, by being part of participative content, the audience receive real-time, meaningful results that they can truly relate to.

    The AI influence

    There is not a part of the world of business that AI has not already impacted or will not be disrupted by it in the near future. It is the secret driving force behind many industries that have grown to tremendous heights overnight. 2020 will definitely see the marriage between AI and marketing to bring out some outstanding results. While many digital marketers are already using AI to positively impact audience targeting, boost their outreach, get product building recommendations and optimize advertising campaigns, they will continue to do so on a full-scale in the coming year, making the use of AI in marketing a standard practice across the industry.

    Taking customer experience to new heights

    Customer is the most important part of any marketing campaign, more so in the present era as marketing is no longer about just making a sale. 2020 will be all about enhancing user experience by building a stage that the customer would keep coming back for more. The idea is to gather a positive business culture around the great product or service that you offer because the customer too has come of age and is no longer standing by for you to come and pitch your product to them. The new-age customer is well-informed and capable of doing his own research. Studies show that 73 per cent of online users look for outstanding customer experience (CX) when buying something. This means there will be a lot happening in visual content enhancement and personalized email spheres. While visual search and content building make CX more engaging, personalised emails are known to improve click rates and customer follow-through.

    Shoppable social media posts

    Digital marketing thrives on social media. While the way people are using social media in current times has changed dramatically, how they interact with social media posts can greatly influence marketing. Despite the fall in social media usage and the long hiatus users take, it is still a very popular way people use to micromanage their relationships with friends and family. Even as Facebook may be seeing a nosedive, newer platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are still enjoying a lot of social footfall especially oriented towards shopping and discovering new products. It is time that this opportunity is seized by companies by creating shoppable posts that will allow users to directly make purchases of their favourite products from social media platform itself.

    In conclusion

    As technology continues to gallop at a rapid pace, it is pertinent to use the right strategies to tap the potential in each of these trends for generating efficient digital marketing leads. And for this, it is imperative to update your knowledge from time to time. Even though there is a greater desire among the audience to make interactions between brands and consumers more human, technology will always manage to find a way to innovate and disrupt our lives, be it online or offline. And it is for the smart marketer to realise these gaps and utilize effective tools at the right time to turn these trends into sizeable and meaningful profits.

    (The author is The Hillcart Tales manager sales and marketing. The views expressed are her own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)
     

  • Welcome aboard the Rs 25,000 cr digital marketing bandwagon

    Welcome aboard the Rs 25,000 cr digital marketing bandwagon

    Established offline businesses are developing digital marketing strategies to expand while new businesses without an offline presence are thriving using only digital marketing. The reasons for using digital marketing are obvious. Globally billions of eyeballs spend several hours every day in front of a screen, even in India where the majority of people still don’t use smartphones, the number of smartphones users is among the largest globally. In a popular movie about social networking released nearly 10 years ago, a character states, “We used to live in caves, then we lived in houses, now we will live on the internet.” He may have prognosticated about life in 2019.  

    Reach only those who matter

    Billions of people spend hundreds of hours online every month which begs the question why they do so? The simple reason is a lot can be done online. Not only that, life online is exciting, just as visiting a mall in real life or going to a really good party is. Social media is a 27/7 party. Importantly, more and more people are getting online than ever before. In India, the digital revolution was given an impetus a few years ago as the cost of data plummeted and 4G internet became commonplace. The number of Indians online will certainly continue to grow.

    Brands have realised they have as good or better chances of attracting consumers online as offline. For many brands, reaching customers online is easier than reaching them through traditional marketing channels. Online, people of different ages and preferences congregate on unique platforms. This allows brands to market products to those who will be likeliest to buy them. For instance, a manufacturer of motorcycles or trendy denim jeans is likeliest to attract an audience on platforms favoured by younger audiences. Information about which platforms are favoured by different segments of consumers is widely available.

    Importantly, when digital marketing is executed, it is executed precisely. For instance, if a manufacturer of jeans only has showrooms in 1 or 2 cities, using digital marketing it can specify its advertisements reach only those living in such cities. So rather than broadcasting on traditional media through which its advertisements will reach only a small number of its target audience, the manufacturer can ensure its advertisements reach only those who are likely to buy its products.

    Enjoy an unbelievably high ROI

    There is a reason why the demand for digital advertising will grow by 31.96 per cent this year, the plain and simple reason is that it works. By the end of this year, the market for digital marketing will expand to Rs 24,920 crore because more and more companies see value in digital marketing. Unlike traditional marketing whose effectiveness is hard to assess, digital marketing’s effectiveness can be captured down to every rupee. While advertising on TV, print, or radio generates demand, inquiries, and leads, it’s difficult to account for how effective each rupee spent in such activities was. Such ambiguity makes it harder to optimally align marketing budgets with sales. Also, the cost of using traditional marketing channels is significantly greater than of digital marketing campaigns. So because digital marketing channels reach a narrowly targeted audience at a lower cost per person than traditional media can, the return on investment (ROI) from digital marketing campaigns is greater than from traditional marketing channels.

    Digital marketing is a bandwagon

    Companies big and small have realised that using digital marketing, they can attract potential consumers more effectively than they could earlier. This is why every brand big or small is climbing aboard the digital marketing bandwagon. What is especially exciting is that digital marketing is giving rise to new companies that have no offline stores. Because billions of eyeballs are glued to screens every day, people are able to see and learn about a number of products without visiting a store. So because consumers can buy products they like online the products don’t need to be displayed in a store.

    Digital marketing is still in its infancy, as technology advances and billions more come online globally, the digital marketing industry will grow in size several folds simply because it is so effective in reaching audiences companies want to reach. Even more exciting possibilities will spring open when technologies like VR become commonplace. For digital marketing, this is merely the beginning and businesses that want to expand can’t afford to not onboard the digital marketing bandwagon.   

    (The author is CEO, WeblinkIndia.net. The views expressed here are his own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.) 

  • Vegan handbag brand Baggit to up marketing spends to 8% of overall budget

    Vegan handbag brand Baggit to up marketing spends to 8% of overall budget

    MUMBAI: Veganism has taken the world by storm. Surprisingly, the cruelty-free lifestyle has found a space not only in the kitchens but also in the wardrobes of its patrons. Much before the wave of vegan lifestyle rose to its crescendo, a home-grown brand had adopted this into its products exceptionally. Baggit, founded by Nina Lekhi in 1990, creates stylish vegan handbags for women. In fact, it pioneered and perfected the concept of using traditional handicraft skills to create modern designs with non-leather, eco-friendly materials.

    Last year, as per reports, Baggit’s revenue touched around Rs 160 crore and this year the brand is looking at 25 per cent revenue growth. The brand has 52 exclusive Baggit stores and is present in more than 1,000 retail outlets through large format stores as well as multi-brand outlets across the country at present. It has also entered international markets like Sri Lanka, through a multi-brand outlet, and is planning to launch in Dubai soon.

    Indiantelevision.com recently got in touch with Baggit MD and chief design curator, Nina Lekhi and talked to her about the amazing journey this brand has taken and how marketing it the right way without spending much helped in making one of the most preferred handbags brands.

    Lekhi sees the vegan market in India only growing. She says, “When we talk about the vegan product market specific to India, it is classified based on the offerings – you get a variety of products, from vegan foods to vegan cosmetics, vegan bags and shoes etc. There are brands in the lifestyle space offering vegan cosmetics, shoes, and handbags, and in the coming years we will see more of vegan products in the market.”

    Talking about incepting Baggit with a vegan approach, she shared, “I wanted to bring in the concept of cruelty-free in my handbags. At Baggit, our USP lies in being an eco-friendly brand with a wide range of vegan products which helps us create a special niche for Baggit in the hearts of our consumers.”

    Not just with the brand concept, Lekhi has always been very particular about her marketing approach as well. The brand has never incorporated the vegan approach in its communications. Lekhi shared, “Marketing and promotion are what Baggit as a brand believes in to reach out to right target audience. Last year our marketing spends were around 5 per cent while this year we will increase it to 7-8 per cent of our overall budget. We have introduced an omnichannel approach in our marketing plans which is doing well. To meet high customer expectations, we’ve been doing a lot of digital activities. We seek to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience whether the customer is shopping online or in the stores. We do more of digital and OOH activities and limited print advertisements.”

    She adds, “At Baggit, we are quite active on digital platforms, the influencer and blogger space – not only for promoting the product but also creating awareness about the brand, new offerings and developing and building on our relationships with fans and customers. We do contest-based activities with bloggers and influencers on Facebook and Instagram.”

    On being asked what role does the e-commerce platforms play in promoting brands like hers, Lekhi quipped that it is not about sales but providing more opportunities to the consumers. She said, “Today e-commerce offers a lot of options to a variety of audience. Unlike in past years, the approach of buyers and sellers has changed. The audience has become smarter and the majority fall into the millennial category. We are available on e-commerce platforms like Myntra, Amazon, Paytm Mall etc. but having said that we are also expanding our reach through physical stores in tier II, tier III cities and the international market. It’s not about sales but about providing more opportunities to customers as per their convenience which will eventually help in increasing sales. Baggit receives 3-4 per cent sales through online platforms.”

  • Digital is the backbone of Tata Motors’ IPL 2019 marketing mix

    Digital is the backbone of Tata Motors’ IPL 2019 marketing mix

    MUMBAI: It is the second year of association between Tata Motors and the Indian Premier League (IPL), and the former is pretty positive that the season is going to help it in boosting the recognisability of its new launch, ‘Harrier’. This premium flagship SUV from the Tata Motors’ portfolio was announced as the official partner of the game recently.

    Talking to Indiantelevision.com at the event, Tata Motors head – marketing, passenger vehicles business unit Vivek Srivatsa shared that it is extremely difficult to get a wider penetration into a diverse country like India, especially in the smaller towns but platforms like cricket play a great role in taking the brands to each household. He said, “What we found very endearing and attractive about IPL is how it has a national fervour as well as a regional flavour. Thanks to the broadcaster Star’s initiative, it has got transmission in all the four Southern languages, Marathi, and Bengali as well. I think it has allowed us to go very deep into and achieve a great level of relevant reach. It also creates good awareness and this it has helped the brand really well.”

    He added, “We have already got good momentum and with IPL we would like to take it even further. With Harrier, fortunately, the customer response has been extremely strong since its launch in December. With IPL, we want to only improve it.”

    Definitely, IPL has a strong viewership and it draws a lot of interest from each section of the society. Thereby, Tata Motors has a strong planning perspective as to how to leverage this platform in the best manner possible. For Srivatsa, digital is at the core of each marketing strategy, “For Harrier, we already have an extremely strong Instagram handle. It already has 25,000 organic followers. Thus, you will see a lot of Instagram activity happening this season.”

    He shared, “Digital will provide the backbone for every activity that we do. There is ‘Super Striker’ and then there is ‘Fan Catch’, the two strong properties already established by us in the last season, which we will continue to grow this time as well. With Super Striker, every match has a player who is awarded a very unique award scale model of the car. I see that the players get excited and they go on their own social media handles to celebrate. It has become good content for us. Also, there are almost 400-500 sixes that are hit during the IPL. Now, every time a sixer is hit, people start looking out for who will catch the ball and win the ‘Fan Catch’. For us, this means a brand recall of 600 times during a season.”

    Apart from this, Tata Motors is also planning to give the cricket fans an online virtual reality cricket game experience. “This will probably be in our showrooms and a few malls. I have already tested the game and it is fantastic. It feels like playing a real match,” said Srivatsa.

    He added that there will also be an online ‘choose your dream team’ kind of championship from last year. Since the IPL trophy tour will be covering two cities-Bengaluru and Delhi, it will also be promoted heavily on digital platforms.

  • Los Angeles Tourism unveils new look for discoverlosangeles.com

    Los Angeles Tourism unveils new look for discoverlosangeles.com

    MUMBAI: The Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board unveiled the new look for discoverlosangeles.com on the back of twelve month long planning, research and development. Built by the tourism’s digital team, the mobile-first design ensures faster response, enhanced search and better accessibility.

    Some of the most talented writers and photographers in the LA area have been tapped by the tourism to create a fun, robust library of content, ranging from guides on hidden neighborhood gems to favorite beaches by playlist and places to visit based on astrological signs. Newly created content will focus on the rise of the millennial parent, neighborhood experiences and quick-read guides throughout the coming months.

    “We know that the previous version of our site was one of the highest trafficked tourism sites in the United States of America and we look forward to serving travelers’ needs with our latest mobile-first version, which is packed with user-friendly attributes,” Los Angeles Tourism digital marketing vice president Bill Karz said.

    Other highlights of the site include interactive maps, personalisation, events-calender, multi-lingual feature. The interactive maps allow site visitors an in-depth look at LA’s distinct neighborhoods while f the events calendar is a ‘go-to’ source for events in the city.

  • Godrej L’Affaire combines experiential, influencer and digital marketing

    Godrej L’Affaire combines experiential, influencer and digital marketing

    MUMBAI: Experiential marketing as a tool of brand activation has become extremely prevalent in the past few years. It is a powerful way to engage the customers better with a brand through first-hand experiences offering not just the look, but the touch and feel of any product on display.

    Another interesting aspect that has been added to this whole paradigm of bringing brands and consumers closer is the effective use of influencer marketing. While earlier influencer and experiential marketing were two mutually exclusive trends, in the recent past, both have intertwined rather seamlessly to offer an exponential reach to the brands. One thing that has definitely contributed to its growth is the digital boom.

    Anexample of the tactical use of experiential, influencer and digital marketing together is L’Affaire, a luxury lifestyle platform by the Godrej Group.

    L’Affaire recently concluded its third edition at Vikhroli, Mumbai, presenting a wholesome experience to its patrons themed around ‘5 Senses’. The unique platform offered rich experiences spanning across fashion, lifestyle, music and dance performances, workshops, food, and engaging conversations. The event saw a huge footfall of influencers from across the genres experiencing the magic of Godrej and other associated brands like Myntra through a stellar show augmented by fashion displays and musical presentations.

    Speaking about the concept behind this exclusive soiree with Indiantelevision.com, Godrej Group vice president and head corporate brand Sujit Patil noted, “The key idea behind creating our very own media platform was to build a Mecca of content creation. We had various brands within Godrej, which were interacting with the influencers and people who recommend products individually. So, we thought why we can’t combine these distinct products, which are anyway a part of the same genre and create something bigger. We planned to make to it so compelling that it eventually becomes brand-agnostic and comes out as a kind of property where experiential engagement happens and we get more number of influencers on board.”

    He further added, “Most importantly, we wanted to show our products in the real light. We wanted the influencers to experience the look, the feel, the touch, and get to them the factors that really mean the credo of a particular brand.”

    On being quizzed why is it important to involve influencers and bloggers in this whole paradigm of experiential marketing, Patil mentioned that today we live in a world that follows authenticity. “If you ask someone to write about something without experiencing it, it is unauthentic, and people will be able to read through that. But when people come here, experience the products and then write about it, they write it from the heart. That helps in getting more traction,” he said.

    Sujit also contended that influencer marketing is only bound to grow. He said, “Micro-influencers, even if they have a lesser number of followers, can write authentically and bring out the essence in an honest manner and it’s going to work [for the brands.”

  • Facebook to train 5 mn Indians by 2021 in digital skills

    Facebook to train 5 mn Indians by 2021 in digital skills

    MUMBAI: Facebook in India is planning to train five million people with digital skills in three years, to help small businesses reach the global economy, according to ET telecom.

    The social media giant has already trained one million people across 150 cities and 48,000 villages with support from 50 partners. These numbers were disclosed at the inaugural day of the two-day Facebook community boost programme aimed at helping small businesses gain digital marketing skills.

    Facebook public policy director India, South and Central Asia Ankhi Das said, "We have a very strong framework of partnership with local partners and state governments. We are very excited that our programmes such as BoostYourBusiness, SheMeansBusiness, that are run in partnership with State and Central Government, civil society and private institutions, focus on facilitating economic transformation and mainstreaming of small businesses at the grassroots level into the formal economy. The company also works closely with the Ministry of Skill Development And Entrepreneurship on digital training."

    The Facebook training programmes entail simple lessons that help to build a digital presence, avoiding expensive fees for creating and hosting websites, tap into the growing mobile economy, gain market access by learning to market their products to more than two billion people globally who use Facebook, increase awareness about their products and services.

    According to Das, the training programmes for India will also help people learn how to utilise Facebook-owned photo-sharing platform Instagram.

    The training modules for these businesses in digital marketing and online safety developed by Facebook are available in 14 local languages.

    Facebook said its programmes reached 29 states in India, including Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Odisha and Rajasthan among others.

    "More than 80 per cent of SMBs (small and midsize businesses) on Facebook say they have increased sales because of the platform and access to global and local market," Das said, citing the findings of a recent survey.

    The results showed that over 70 per cent of SMBs on the social networking platform built their business on Facebook.

    On concerns of businesses generating fake like or page views, Das said that Facebook is aggressively fighting spread of misinformation on the platform by taking down fake accounts.

    In the last two quarters, Facebook has removed more than 1.5 billion fake accounts, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a note last week.